Jut for the fun of it I took a Raven to the range this week. I have not shot the little gun in about 25 years. You know the crazy little gun worked perfect? I was surprised. I have not done anything with it for all that time. I had not had any problems before. Do you know if anyone works on the little things anymore?It was kind of fun to shoot for a change.
Raven 25ACP
- Thread starter rhartwell
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In my experience, those guns often work just fine. The design is actually not bad, the problems being inferior materials and poor workmanship. They buy a lot of their parts so it might depend on who their supplier is and his Q/C.
But I wouldn't use one of them for serious purposes or expect long-term reliability.
Jim
But I wouldn't use one of them for serious purposes or expect long-term reliability.
Jim
MedWheeler
Member
Nothing wrong with popping a few off every now and then from those old "cheapo" pieces.. I have a J-22 (Jennings) from around then, too. Haven't messed with it in almost as many years, but it always did work well.
A former employer of my brother had a Raven .25 that he let me shoot once.
My biggest fear was that the shape of the tiny grip would cause the web of my thumb to get cut by the slide. Other than that, though, it was reliable (at least for the few rounds we fired) and it was surprisingly accurate.
My biggest fear was that the shape of the tiny grip would cause the web of my thumb to get cut by the slide. Other than that, though, it was reliable (at least for the few rounds we fired) and it was surprisingly accurate.
pockets
Member
I shoot my old Raven fairly often. Quite reliable, even with a 15-round magazine.
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Omaha-BeenGlockin
Member
Mine was a single shot pos-sold it for $25 bucks over 20 years ago
When I first got mine it had frequent "stove pipe" type jams. Made some adjustments to the lips of the magazine and it has worked fine ever since.
I actually think that the Raven is a pretty decent pocket gun that got a bad rap from gun control groups who wanted to basically ban anything that was too easily affordable.
My Raven next to my HP22a:
I actually think that the Raven is a pretty decent pocket gun that got a bad rap from gun control groups who wanted to basically ban anything that was too easily affordable.
My Raven next to my HP22a:
Sadly for some, that line of pistols is cheap (cost of replacement) enough that most gunsmiths won't touch them. They are fun to shoot, and at least for the distances that I shot them, accurate. They certainly do the job that they were intended for; an inexpensive gun for people that couldn't afford a "good gun", but still needed something to protect themselves with. I would suggest that you look for a spare firing pin; I have had to look at a couple and all that was wrong with them was a broken firing pin. There is no telling if it was just luck, or if that is a weak point in the design, but since it is simple enough to change one out if needed, it would not hurt to have one on hand.
bobinoregon
Member
I have a raven 25 I bought back in the 70's. For some reason I've always kept it even though it has the absolute worst trigger pull of anything I've ever owned. Every few years I find it in a safe and shoot it a little, it always works. Dry firing is usually what breaks the firing pins in these little guys, but new ones arent hard to find.
Yup. Most broken firing pins are caused by dry firing with these guns.
larryh1108
Member
People who know no better bash the Raven for being junk. Maybe the other Saturday Night Specials were less than reliable but the Raven has been the best of the worst. There are many favorable write ups about them from days gone by. Simple design. Very reliable. It's a nice, little plinker.
A bunch of the ones that had bad reputations mainly had issues with their magazines and underengineered slides.
I wonder how the companies shut down by frivolous lawsuits would fare in the world today with more competent firearm owners and fewer smear campaigns against cheap guns?
The same guys targeting black rifles today were the ones who shut down the "Ring of Fire" manufacturers with petty lawsuits before manufacturers were protected from lawsuits stemming from CRIMES commited with their products.
I wonder how the companies shut down by frivolous lawsuits would fare in the world today with more competent firearm owners and fewer smear campaigns against cheap guns?
The same guys targeting black rifles today were the ones who shut down the "Ring of Fire" manufacturers with petty lawsuits before manufacturers were protected from lawsuits stemming from CRIMES commited with their products.
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